Formula 1® is the world’s fastest and most demanding sport, changing
by the second. The quick turnaround times, diverse global locations
and requirements for complex technology and fail-proof connectivity
at every race make it one of the most challenging, high-profile
projects that any team could deliver on.
Formula One Management was looking for a partner and support
team that could keep pace with them. In order to provide the best
connectivity in locations around the world, they needed someone
who could respond instantly and offer customised service.
Tata Communications therefore set up a dedicated professional
services team - a group of on-site specialists who integrate
seamlessly into the Formula One Management team and are there
on the ground with them, day in, day out. Supported by Tata
Communications experts around the world, they deliver a quality
experience at every race.

The inside view...
“Keeping each race connected is a huge task, especially with the
challenge of on-site logistics. Anything up to 18 teams support
races around the world, taking personal responsibility for making
each event run smoothly. Our role is to check that delivery always
stays on track and we will work as many hours as it takes to
ensure the service levels are maintained.
“With a standard project delivery, it is usual to have a clear
delineation between the responsibilities of the Sales, Project
and BAU teams. Whereas with a standard network deployment,
the end-to-end timescale for implementation, testing, handover,
assurance and decommissioning would be years, in Formula 1®,
this is compressed to only a few days. In this highly challenging
environment, lines often blurred but the goal and responsibility
to the client did not waiver. Strong teams, processes and service
capability customised to the specific needs of Formula 1® and the
unfailing ability to deliver were our strong differentiators.”
Pat Vicary,
Vice President-Operations - EMEA

The solution
A professional services team travels the globe with
Formula One Management, managing the extreme challenge
of quickly and reliably delivering content from locations as
diverse as China, Australia, Bahrain and Brazil.
At every race event, the Tata Communications professional
services team is responsible for installing, testing and
de-rigging complex network connectivity solutions,
managing and monitoring systems.
The team acts as the on-site link between Tata
Communications and Formula One Management, ensuring
that the customer’s every need is met, responding instantly
to issues and requests in this demanding, fast-paced
environment.
They are backed by a support team from across the Tata
Communications organisation which liaises at every step,
planning ahead to avoid potential problems and ensure
a hassle-free experience at every location. Co-ordinating
across time zones, the team handles not just race IT and
media IT, but also normal business IT for Formula One
Management.

The customer speaks...
“We looked into the market to see who can provide
the services we needed, and that’s why we chose Tata
Communications. Out of all the people we researched,
they gave us what we wanted.”
Bernie Ecclestone,
CEO Formula One group

As a feat of networking, it’s the equivalent of changing a
tyre in under four seconds. From Melbourne in March to
Brazil in November, the Tata Communications team sets up,
connects (and decommissions) networks for races across
the globe. A dedicated race implementation team is there
on every race weekend, dealing with the unpredictable and
ensuring delivery every day. Detailed planning and
on-the-ground flexibility ensure that connections are always
available, avoiding downtime for these essential networks.
When the events are running the on-site team is supported
by the Tata Communications’ crew from all functions. These
virtual teams, spread across the globe and operating out
of different time zones, have demonstrated the capability
to support dynamic clients both in terms of the technical
expectations, and the timescales and flexibility required in
delivery.

The customer speaks...
“Tata Communications has become an integral part of our team.
Its engineers are alongside our team every day, working the same
long, intensive hours – they eat, breathe and sleep Formula 1®
during the season.
“The Tata Communications team has tailored its service to
meet our unique needs. During mission critical periods normal
protocols and process take a backseat and the technical team are
empowered to make on the spot decisions and resolve issues paperwork follows, but the priority is on the service.
“As the provider of some of our most essential services, Tata
Communications has experienced first hand the value of its
proactive support and the highest levels of service that are
needed to allow us to confidently concentrate on consistently
delivering to our responsibilities event after event.”
Eddie Baker,
Chief Technical Consultant, Formula One group

Benefits
• Tailored service. Formula One Management is a unique
organisation and so a unique service management model
has been built around its needs, bringing together a
range of technology and expertise around the world.

rigged, commissioned and fully tested before everyone
arrives. The team then remains on site as the broadcast
centre is dismantled, keeping services running so that
connectivity is maintained even made after the race.

• Consistency. The provider of connectivity and website
content delivery for Formula 1®, Tata Communications’
global capability means it can be trusted to offer the
same delivery strength in every country, consistently and
repeatedly.

• Speed. In this sport, everything happens fast. So if an
issue arises, the professional services team are on hand
to fix issues instantly. Sat within the broadcast centre,
engineers operate a transparent service, face-to-face
with the customer for the ultimate response time.

• Reliability. The Tata Communications team has built
strong relationships with partners to ensure quality
‘last mile’ connectivity to the Tata Global Network, and
monitors this on-site during races to prevent service
interruption as data is sent back to the UK.

• Risk mitigation. Although the professional services team
deals with issues that arise on site, it is also focused on
planning ahead to avoid potential problems, ensuring
that servers are able to cope with predicted traffic and
keeping Formula1.com running efficiently.

• Flexibility. Formula One Management is a
well-oiled machine, descending on a location, setting
up, broadcasting and dismantling each race in a
matter of days. The Tata Communications team slots
seamlessly into this schedule, ensuring equipment is

• Innovation. Working with the Formula 1® R&D
programme, Tata Communications is always looking for
ways to improve service, such as improving resilience
between PoPs and offering additional diverse routing to
protect against failure.

If we can do this for
Formula 1®, we can do it for
anyone, in any industry.
Find out how you could tap into Tata Communications’ global
expertise and innovative thinking to drive your business, by
contacting: formula1@tatacommunications.com
We focus on serving key vertical segments, including banking
and financial services, pharmaceuticals, hospitality, media and
entertainment. With a strong base of over 5000 enterprise customers
globally, Tata Communications has the experience and capability to
delivery beyond expectations.

Visit www.tatacommunications.com to find out more about our services.
About Tata Communications
As a leading global provider of a new world of communications, Tata
Communications has the advanced solutions capabilities and domain expertise to
deliver managed solutions to service providers, multi-national corporations and
large and medium-sized enterprises globally. We have operations, infrastructure
and partnerships across established and emerging markets, with a strong portfolio
of IP and Cloud services.

The Tata Global Network includes one of the most advanced and largest submarine
cable networks, a Tier-1 IP network, with connectivity to more than 200 countries
across 400 PoPs and nearly 1 million square feet of data centre and colocation
space worldwide.

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